PoliticsRobert F. Kennedy Jr. Announces He's 'Suspending His Campaign' and Will 'Throw His Support' to Donald Trump
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his 2024 election campaign on August 23.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. confirmed he is "suspending" — but not "terminating" — his campaign for the White House at an Arizona press conference held on Friday, August 23.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said his name will still be on the ballot in some states.
Kennedy Jr. clarified that while his name will still appear on the ballot in some states, he is withdrawing his name from 10 battleground states, including Arizona and Pennsylvania, per reports.
"I encourage you to vote for me," he added. "I could conceivably still end up in the White House in a contingent election."
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed he did not believe he had a 'realistic path of electoral victory.'
However, he said he "no longer believes" in his "heart" that he has a "realistic path of electoral victory in the face of this relentless, systematic censorship and media control."
"So I cannot, in good conscience, ask my staff and volunteers to keep working their long hours, or ask my donors to keep giving when I cannot honestly tell them that I have a real path to the White House," he continued.
Donald Trump reportedly asked to 'enlist' Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in his administration if elected.
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Kennedy Jr. then confirmed his endorsement of his controversial former rival Donald Trump.
"Three great causes drove me to enter this race in the first place, primarily. These are the principal causes that persuaded me to leave the Democratic Party and run as an independent, and now to throw my support to President Trump," he said.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Donald Trump suggested they 'join forces as a unity party.'
The 70-year-old politician also said Trump already asked to "enlist him in his administration" on two, separate occasions.
"In those meetings, he suggested that we join forces as a unity party," he added, per CNN. "We talked about Abraham Lincoln’s team of rivals, that arrangement would allow us to disagree publicly and privately and furiously, if need be, on issues over which we differ, while working together on the existential issues upon which we are in concordance."
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This political move comes as little shock as Kennedy Jr.'s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, hinted they'd do exactly this in a recent interview.
"There’s two options that we’re looking at. One is staying in, forming that new party; but we run the risk of a Kamala Harris and [Tim] Walz presidency because we draw votes from Trump," she said. "Or we walk away right now and join forces with Donald Trump ... and we explain to our base why we’re making this decision."
Around the time Kennedy suspended his campaign, a CBS poll recorded his support at 2 percent.
